Autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles have the potential to be used in an increasing number of applications. For example, the use of autonomous vehicles may be desirable in military or civilian applications that would otherwise expose human operators or passengers to dangerous environments. Such autonomous vehicles may include a control system configured to receive information regarding, for example, the surrounding terrain, upcoming obstacles, a particular path, etc., and to automatically respond to this information in place of a human operator by commanding a series of maneuvers so that the vehicle is able to negotiate the terrain, avoid the obstacles, or track a particular path with little or no human intervention.
In certain applications, the autonomous vehicle may be required to operate in a continuously changing environment. For example, the autonomous vehicle may be required to track a path over alternate stretches of flat, winding, or hilly terrain at varying speeds, and across which many obstacles, such as other vehicles or various other objects, or even humans may appear at unexpected places or times. Without the presence of a human operator to assess the changing conditions, the autonomous vehicle may collide with an obstacle or otherwise attempt maneuvers beyond its reactive capabilities. In certain other applications, the autonomous vehicle may be required to operate without detection, such as in a military operation or even at night. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved autonomous vehicle that is configured to address these and other concerns.